Prof. Dr. Geert Keil

Reserach Fochus

Geert Keil is concerned with the epistemological aspects of deep disagreements and has a particular interest in the question how one can explain ongoing differences between cognitive peers. He assumes that the highly idealised conditions of epistemic peerhood (where both sides share the same level of information, intellectual capacity, effort of reflection, etc.) steer the debate in an unproductive direction. For empirically substantial explanations for sources of dissent, reference must be made to inter-individual differences that are not precluded by a realistically conceived epistemic peerhood. Furthermore, Geert Keil is interested in fields of applications, most notably assessment of research performance: By which factors can the large extent of peer disagreement within the peer-review process be explained? Which of these factors require sociological explanations, which require psychological explanations, and which role does the rational underdetermination of evaluations play?

Biography

Since 2010 Professor of Philosophy (with a specialism in Philosophical Anthropology) at the Humboldt University of Berlin